Dudley man guilty of murder

A Dudley man was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole Friday after being found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2005 slaying of 18-year-old Aaron A. Gibeault in Dudley.

A Worcester Superior Court jury of eight women and four men deliberated about an hour before returning the guilty verdict. The jurors found that the killing of Mr. Gibeault, who died from multiple blunt head trauma and multiple stab wounds, was both premeditated and committed with extreme atrocity or cruelty.

Jose E. Colon, 29, formerly of 15 Oxford Ave., Dudley, showed no signs of emotion as the verdict was announced, and sat stoically in the courtroom later in the day as members of Mr. Gibeault’s family fondly recalled the victim in impact statements. Judge Richard T. Tucker imposed the statutory sentence for first-degree murder: Life imprisonment with no possibility of parole.

The battered body of Mr. Gibeault, who lived in Webster, was found July 23, 2005, near railroad tracks off Oxford Avenue in Dudley. Mr. Colon was accused of stabbing Mr. Gibeault four times and striking him with several rocks, including one weighing 14-1/2 pounds that prosecutors said was used to crush the victim’s skull.

The jury returned its verdict about an hour after two deliberating jurors were excused from service by Judge Tucker for unexplained reasons and were replaced by alternate jurors. The jury was told to begin its deliberations anew at that time.

Two prosecution witnesses, Kristin Wilson and Mr. Colon’s cousin, Maria Colon, testified during the six-day trial that they were with Mr. Colon, Mr. Gibeault and a third man, Jayser Cruz, on the railroad tracks in Dudley some time after 11 p.m. July 22, 2005. They said they saw Mr. Colon throwing rocks at an intoxicated Mr. Gibeault and left the area a short time later.

Ms. Colon and Mr. Colon’s former girlfriend, Marinely Rivera, testified that Mr. Colon later told them he had killed Mr. Gibeault. Ms. Rivera said Mr. Colon told her he committed the killing “for us,” even though their brief relationship was over by that time.

She also said she overheard Mr. Colon telling her brother that he took Mr. Gibeault’s life because he was “talking (expletive deleted).”

Mr. Cruz was initially also charged with Mr. Gibeault’s murder as a joint venturer, but a grand jury found insufficient evidence to indict Mr. Cruz and returned a no bill in his case.

Mr. Colon’s lawyer, Calvin C. Carr, suggested in his closing argument that Mr. Cruz may have been Mr. Gibeault’s killer and said the police investigation’s focus on Mr. Colon resulted from “a rush to judgment.” Mr. Colon did not testify in his own defense.

“I can’t believe what kind of a man would brutally kill my son when he had done him no wrong, no harm,” Mr. Gibeault’s father, Marc J. Gibeault, said in an impact statement read during Mr. Colon’s sentencing hearing.

“It’s going to be all pain and suffering for the rest of my lifetime. The visions I’ve seen will never be gone. I’m a father who loved his son. I could not even identify him, my own son. No person should have to endure anything that horrible,” the grieving father said.

Aaron Gibeault’s mother, Lugene Gibeault, recalled the youngest of her four offspring as “the most spirited of the bunch,” and said, “He had a wildness about him and loved to have fun, but he also carried this quiet type of humbleness that not many recognized.”

She remembered her son as an avid BMX racer who also played baseball, soccer and football, had many friends and was well-liked.

Addressing her son’s killer, Ms. Gibeault said to Mr. Colon, “I refuse to carry hatred for you in my heart. I will always pray for you, especially your mother and family.”

Assistant District Attorney Daniel J. Bennett, who prosecuted the case, praised the work of state, Dudley and Webster police who were involved in the investigation into Mr. Gibeault’s death.

“You can never really provide closure for a family that’s lost a loved one, but I’m happy that we were at least able to provide them some justice,” he said.